Minority coalition elects John Parete chairman of Ulster County Legislature

Tania Barricklo — Daily Freeman
John Parete raises his hand for the swearing in at the beginning of the first Ulster County Legislature meeting of the year during which he was elected chairman on Tuesday.

KINGSTON>> Democratic Legislator John Parete assumed the helm of the Ulster County Legislature on Tuesday, catapulted to the position with the unanimous support of the Republican Party.

Parete, a Democrat from Boiceville, was selected as chairman of the Legislature over Democrat Hector Rodriguez in a 13-10 vote.

Rodriguez had been the choice of Democrats, who hold a 13-10 majority on the board.

In addition to garnering the votes of the 10-member Republican caucus, Parete, a two-term legislator and former Democratic Party chairman, received his own vote, the vote of his son, Richard Parete, D-Accord, and former Legislature Chairman David Donaldson, D-city of Kingston.

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That Parete received the vote over Rodriguez prompted some lawmakers to suggest others had “sold their soul” in voting for Parete.

“I don’t sell my soul for a vote or personal gain,” said Legislator Jeanette Provenzano, D-city of Kingston. “And tonight, many of you will, and I say sleep well.”

“I never sold my soul for any vote and never will,” said Legislator Ken Wishnick.

“I feel very sorry for some of the people who will review their life and think about what they’ve done tonight ... against what they wanted to do themselves, just sold their soul,” said Wishnick, D-New Paltz.

In remarks to the body following the vote, Parete did not lay out an agenda for the upcoming year, but said he would be looking for “civility” moving forward.

“I’m not going to spend one minute anymore on partisan politics or bickering. I will only do what I think is right and work with everybody to try to do what we think is right and what I think is right,” said Parete.

“I will work with anybody, any place, at any time on any topic and try to make it work, and try to have a good relationship with everybody,” he said.

Rodriguez said that, had he been elected, he would have put forth an agenda that included economic development, infrastructure, broadband and “working to make Ulster County better day by day.”

Despite his defeat, he said, “you are going to be seeing out of this caucus a lot of legislation, a lot of ideas, a lot of energy -- energy I think has been lacking the past four years.

“I’m really hopeful we’ll be working together, but that may or may not be the case. Who knows?” said Rodriguez.

Majority Leader Donald Gregorius, in a prepared statement following the meeting, called Parete’s election “short-sighted” and said that, by hijacking the vote for chairman, Republicans not only disenfranchised voters who wanted to see a change in legislative leadership, but short-circuited a “coalition of the reasonable” that he said has existed for years and produced significant legislation, bipartisan working relationships and respect.

“It is clear that the actions of a few are counterproductive and assure that trust will be difficult to re-establish,” he stated.

Gregorius said that, with Parete’s election, Republicans will continue to control the agendas, resolutions, laws, and rules come before the Legislature.

“It is clear the voters wanted real change, not the same group with a new handpicked leader that’s disenchanted with his own majority party’s choice,” he said.

About the Author

Since 1990, Patricia R. Doxsey has been a reporter for the Freeman, covering politics, crime, and government affairs. Reach the author at pdoxsey@freemanonline.com
or follow Patricia R. on Twitter: @pattiatfreeman.